In the gardens of our minds, Where the phlox and peonies unfurl, I often wander, clasped in solitude. Colors blend, water droplets sparkle, To cradle the spirit of the day. What birds nest in these thickets? Can you hear them? They slip through the air, Dancing in a delicate approach, The earth alive, the cosmos born anew, In tender sighs of every bloom— This is the miracle of awakening, Of breathing the freshness of our wombs, The softening of individual voices, In nature’s choir, we are one.

• Mina Loy